Cole Custer upset NASCAR didn't make AJ Allmendinger fix damage on his car

After starting on the pole and finishing P9, Cole Custer was frustrated. He was really frustrated with AJ Allmendinger. According to Custer, he thinks the damage to the No. 10’s right rear quarter panel gave the car an advantage. He even brought up the fact he was made to fix similar damage back at Fontana while under green by NASCAR.

The wreck that involved Ty Gibbs, Austin Hill, and Carson Hocevar also involved Allmendinger. However, the No. 10 Chevy didn’t seem to take too much damage. So, the team rolled with it instead of fixing it.

Cole Custer believes NASCAR should have made Allmedinger pit and Kaulig repair the damage. There have been rare instances of damage benefitting drivers and teams. Custer figures this was one of those instances.

“Super frustrated,” Custer said when asked by Dustin Long, NBC Sports. “I think we had a winning car, worked our guts out to get by the 16 to take second I guess what it was at that point. But I felt like we had a winning car. Pretty livid with how it all turned out. I don’t really have anything good to say, there’s a lot of different ways you can look at it with that 10 car with how the damage was.

“Pretty frustrated with how it takes playoff points away. I think we had a winning car and to get blown by somebody with their car all messed up and can drive into the corner two car lengths deeper than the both of us is frustrating.”

#NASCAR … Cole Custer finished ninth but left Nashville frustrated that officials did not make winner AJ Allmendinger’s team repair damage during the race that Custer felt helped Allmendinger’s car. pic.twitter.com/W31YPc4gpS

— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 24, 2023

While NASCAR is all about bending the rules, does Cole Custer have a point in this case? Should Allmendinger have been forced to fix the damage?

Cole Custer falters after winning pole

There is an understandable frustration for Custer. He was on the pole to start and had a fast Ford Mustang. He felt that NASCAR was being unfair and inconsistent, above all else, by letting Allmendinger run with the damage to his rear panel.

Regardless, Custer shouldn’t feel too bad. He didn’t get playoff points, but he is locked into the postseason with his win at Portland. There is also the fact he finished P9 overall. There is a bit of an argument to make if he finished P2 or P3 but was Custer really a threat to win this race with Riley Herbst and others performing so well?

AJ Allmendinger won his second Xfinity Series race of the season. He is not eligible for points or the playoffs since he’s a Cup Series driver. For The Dinger, there is some hope he can build off this win and use it to perform well this Sunday.

Cole Custer is frustrated but there really isn’t anything that can be done about it now. On to the next one as NASCAR heads to Chicago for street course action.